Saturday, April 09, 2011

The the first critical reason for Freedom from Oil is declining oil world supply....

The supply of oil in the ground is not infinite. Someday, annual world crude oil production has to reach a peak and start to decline. It is my opinion that the peak will occur in late 2005 or in the first few months of 2006. – Princeton University Professor Emeritus Kenneth Deffeyes, Beyond Oil

Based on oil geology, the peak of oil production occurs when around half of total recoverable oil has been produced. Not that we're "out of oil", but that supply will inexorably fall after the peak. The United States peaked in 1970 (blue area).

The above chart, data from ASPO (the Association for the Study of Peak Oil & Gas) founder Colin Campbell (Newsletter #100 and OilPoster.org), summarizes our likely situation. Now even the International Energy Agency's World Energy Outlook 2010 sees a 2006 peak of 70 mb/d world crude oil production.

No, as shown above, the biggest fields were discovered decades ago and are running down faster than new discoveries can replace them. Matthew Simmons'Twilight in the Desert summarizes numerous technical reports to conclude even Saudi Arabia's production may have peaked.

The United States' 1970 oil peak was never exceeded despite all of Alaska's new production (U.S. EIA). The big rise in demand has been supplied with imported oil (top five import sources' data beginning 1993/1995).

The Gulf oil disaster (USCG , AP photos; also see LA Times) is the latest example of environmental and economic devastation from oil production. Not to mention decades of air pollution. How much stronger a message do we need??

The vast majority of oil is used for transportation, with over half for personal vehicles' motor gasoline.

A strong, credible body of scientific evidence shows that climate change is occurring, is caused largely by human activities, and poses significant risks for a broad range of human and natural systems. – U.S. National Academy of Sciences, 2010

This January 2011 NASA chart shows 2010 tied (with 2005) for the hottest year on record, and is part of the hottest decade on record. It "is compiled from weather data from more than 1000 meteorological stations around the world, satellite observations of sea surface temperature and Antarctic research station measurements."

Glaciers and ice sheets are melting around the world. For example, Muir Glacier in Alaska's Glacier Bay National Park, 1892 (left), has vanished in 2005 (right; both USGS).

Arctic sea ice is at record lows, and melting of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets is increasing. The “Albedo Effect” of shiny ice replaced by dark ocean further accelerates warming.

Not only is sea level rising, but most of the excess heat and has been absorbed in the ocean, resulting in stronger hurricanes. CO2 is also making the ocean more acidic, endangering shellfish and coral reefs.

A new NASA-Jet Propulsion Laboratory study projects a one-foot rise by 2050. If the 100,000-year-old, mile-thick Greenland Ice Sheet melted it would raise sea level over 23 feet.

Effects of global warming include extreme weather – severe heat, storms, floods, drought and dust bowls. Great wildfires (photo – Station Fire behind downtown Los Angeles, August 2009) are a result of heat, drought, and pine borer beetles that were formerly killed by cold winters.

Greater heat and less water reduce food crops.

Climate doesn't change all by itself for no good reason. Something has to force it. – Mark Serreze, National Snow and Ice Data Center director

The Greenhouse Effect is well-documented. That something is CO2 levels, primarily from burning fossil fuels over the last century – and other greenhouse gases – that have risen with temperature (NASA chart). This atmospheric CO2 acts like a thermostat to control the temperature of the Earth.

Grid-connected electric transit – streetcars, light and heavy rail, and electric trolleybuses are quiet, energy-efficient, and proven. As Gilbert and Perl note, "Electricity is the ideal transport fuel for an uncertain future. Unlike other alternative energy transition paths for transport, only electric mobility can move people and goods using a wide range of energy sources."